Atlanta Falcons Could Get Massive Influx of Reinforcements Post-Bye Week

The Atlanta Falcons head into their early bye week sitting at 2-2 and feeling much better about themselves than they did a week ago.

It's not hyperbolic to say that Raheem Morris and his team saved their season with the 34-27 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

As they head into the bye week, they can look at Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills knowing they should have some reinforcements back on their depth chart.

Players who were placed on Injured Reserve (IR) before the season with a designation to return are eligible to return to the team after missing four games. Such players included linebacker Troy Andersen, edge Bralen Trice, defensive tackle Ta'Quon Graham, and offensive tackle Storm Norton.

It's a minimum of four games, so the players can remain on IR, but when they're ready, the Falcons can activate a 21-day practice window. This gives the team three weeks to evaluate the player to see if they're ready to return to the 53-man active roster (and take someone else's spot).

Morris was understandably reserved when discussing the players eligible to return. First, there's no guarantee they're ready, and second, if they are activated, it means someone else gets cut.

“I don’t have a lot of information on those guys yet," Morris said on Monday. "I've got my medical meeting coming up here in a little bit. I'll probably have more after that. Be way more informative next week when we get back. But I have to go check on Storm, check on all those guys. We'll get a feel where they're all at. After these medical meetings. I don't have a lot of information on it."

Morris was more eager to talk about cornerback A.J. Terrell and wide receiver Darnell Mooney, both dealing with hamstring injuries.

"Hoping that we can get A.J. back after this bye," Morris said. "Another week of rest for him and get a chance to get him out there. That's probably the one I do have a little bit more information on than the other guys.

"I don't know anything about Mooney other than – we'll have to see from this week. Obviously, he left yesterday (Sunday) with the hamstring. So, we'll see. I don't know how bad it was, but I don't think it's something too bad. But we'll get a check. I'll get a feel for it later.”

Terrell and Mooney are instant starters when healthy. The four players on injured reserve are rotational players looking to help with depth and push for starting roles.

Norton was the primary backup at both offensive tackle positions. He was slated to replace Kaleb McGary at right tackle, who was lost for the season. Eli Wilkinson has played admirably in their absence. Norton wouldn't be a guaranteed starter when he comes back, but he'd give the team another option and considerably better depth as he ramps up.

Andersen has fought to stay healthy his entire career. The Falcons run a lot of 3-3-5 looks with three down linemen, a stand-up edge rusher, and Kaden Elliss and Divine Deablo at linebacker. Elliss likes to cheat up to the line of scrimmage in passing situations. Having Andersen available would give defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich another athletic piece at linebacker to use in blitz packages.